it's that time again!!

Hey guess what??? There's going to be a winter Olympics this year!! With all the bruhaha in Chicago, I for one was not paying any attention to the rest of the world (typical) and when I saw the NBC commercials for the Vancouver Olympics I was like "huh? Vancouver?" but it is apparently true. And I am excited. While I am not at all an athlete (my days of high school gym were PURE HELL - except when we had those teachers that didn't give two shits what you did during class because they were talking to the jocks. I give you Gustafson's tennis classes where Heidi and I lobbed balls consistently over the tennis court fences, went "oh, crap" then ambled off to go get the wayward balls (that sounds wrong), returning only to hit them over the fence again, and so on, until class was over.) - whatever, I love watching OTHER people do amazing athletic feats. So yeah, I will be tuning in (unless, of course, something awesome is happening on American Idol).

I find the Winter Games to be totally hypnotic. I will spend hours in front of the tv watching sports that I never knew even existed and would not otherwise be caught dead watching. One year, I was doing something or other and got totally sucked in to some kind of cross country skiing race. I was watching it for hours, rooting on the Norwegian who was in the lead. I even got teary when he won. Go, man, go.

I also tuned in, rather inadvertantly, to many men's hockey games. I was on the edge of my seat for the gold medal Sweden team game (and it had NOTHING to do with the cuteness of their goalie, officer!) It has already begun, even though the games themselves won't start until February - last night I was bored and cruising channels when I found the World Cup Ski Jumping competition. How crazy is that, by the way? I want to know who it was that ever thought that would be a fun thing to do? And how do you practice for that, without killing yourself? But so yeah, I was watching it, and was literally transfixed by watching these guys (no Americans, by the way - there is no way we are not crazy enough to do stuff like that - what gives?) flying down the hill at top speed and then soaring, their bodies parallel with their skis, then landing on the ground and not falling over. I am amazed.

So I am ready and waiting. Bring it on, NBC. Bring me your curling, and your hockey, and your half pipe.

GAME OVER

Saturday evening, hanging out with Heidi, chillin' like a villain on penicillin, we decide to order in and watch a movie. We'd been surfing around online and happened to see "Gamer" advertised. It features our fave Scottish hunk, Mr. Butler, and I convinced Heidi that we should watch it. If Gerry's in it, how bad could it be? At least we get to look at him, right? Was my reasoning. This proved to be incredibly bad reasoning, as it turned out. Does anybody even remember this film being in theaters? It was there for about a minute and then it was GONE. Do you know why? Because it's crappy, that's why. So very very weird and surreal. A virtual reality whiz creates games involving real human beings who are 'played' by video game nerds. One of the games pits jailbirds against each other in epic battles. If they survive 30 battles they get set free. Oh, but there's other stuff going on, blah blah blah, Gerry escapes the game to rejoin his wife and daughter, he has to fight the bad guy, etc etc etc. Crazy craziness.

So do yourselves a favor and: 1) don't see it. and also 2.) don't listen to me when I suggest movies. Clearly, I am incapable of making good choices where he is concerned. Damn it, Gerry, why must you make it so hard for me to love you???

my, my, how could i resist you?

Went to Mamma Mia yesterday afternoon in Rosemont - I had to miss my Colts who beat the socks off of those Jets, but que sera sera (They won!). Golly my goodness, I haven't been to the Rosemont Theatre since we opened the place with Barry Manilow all those years ago... It was a fun atmosphere, along with loud "ya-ta-da" carpet. The show was just fun. It's not deep or earth-shattering theater, but who cares? It was so much fun and everyone knows how much I loves me some ABBA. We had a very sedate audience though - at the end, there is supposed to be a singalong with Mamma Mia! Dancing Queen and Waterloo, and while everyone seemed to be on their feet, we were the only ones singing. Wassup with that, Rosemont?? Then we all trundled out of the theater, from the warmth of the Greek Isles into the snow (!) where we sat around for a really long time, waiting to get out of the parking lot. And now, I'll be broken-hearted, blue since the day we parted...

Viva Forever

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the_theater_loop/2010/01/new-spice-girls-musical-in-the-works.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chicagotribune%2Fthetheaterloop+%28Chicago+Tribune+-+The+Theater+Loop%29

A Spice Girls musical?? Slam yer body down and ZIGAZIGAHHHH!

here i go again...

Mamma Mia Sunday matinee, here I come!! Honestly, how could I resist ya?

but where are your Skarsgards?

This past weekend was pretty awesome: I got to relieve my stress by ripping sheets of ugly wallpaper off the walls of Jane's new house, I saw some funny plays at North, the Colts won their game over the Ravens, I finished "A Presumption of Death" and am now "learning the ropes" (hahahhaaha) of "The Nine Tailors" AND I went to Places Unknown, namely: Kane County. I have heard tell of mysterious places like "Huntley" and "Elgin" and "West Dundee" in stories, but on Monday, I got to go to there. Fun times abounded. No seriously, they did - there are outlet stores up there, people, and their sales tax is only - wait for it - 7%!!!!!!! That's SEVEN PERCENT, as opposed to over 10% like it is here in good ol' Cook Co.

And then, even more fun times - we went to IKEA. I loves me some IKEA. Beth said she wanted a house - I don't want a house, per se, I just want to decorate a house with all kinds of crazily named Swedish furniture. Anyway. We paused in the act of commiting commerce to have a snack - Swedish meatballs (naturally)and several desserts. I have to say it was the oddest snack I recall having in a while. Meatballs AND chocolate cake, washed down with some milk. Mmmmm. We went back to our browsing. Heidi ended up getting a little loveseat with a pull out bed, and here the fun begins. I am leaving it to your very able imaginations to picture me, Beth and Heidi trying to cram this thing into the back of Heidi's CRV. I'll wait while you picture this. Go on. In the words of Mr. Addams "Esss FON!" And funny. Something out of a three stooges show, really. You see, we'd thought it would come in pieces. To assemble, like. But it DIDN'T. It was the couch frame and one tiny but heavy box of whatnot. So although Heidi had measured the room to make sure the couch would fit, we had not taken into account needing to cram it into the back of the car.

And we're back. I am a weakling and so could not contribute much to the lifting, although I DID manage to contribute BRAINPOWER and ENCOURAGEMENT. We'd almost gotten the thing stuffed into the car - but it wouldn't fit. We could not close the rear door. What to do? Renting a truck seemed to be our only option but then I said something about taking off the cardboard to give us a little more room - and then we were off again, ripping the cardboard off of the couch and renewing the pushing, lifting and cramming. And this time - it fit! You know what didn't fit though? All three of us. There was a little more cramming as Beth got into the back. This doesn't sound as incredibly hilarious as it was at the time, but let me tell you. It was probably the most awesome car ride I've ever had. Seriously.

Heidi needs to order some more furniture, but next time I think she will get it delivered. Also, we looked high and low for their selection of Skarsgards (particularly the "Alexander" model) but didn't find any of them anywhere. What's up with that, IKEA? Although, honestly, we would not have been able to fit him into the car...

Young directors debut at Niles North weekend play showcase :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lincolnwood Review

Young directors debut at Niles North weekend play showcase :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lincolnwood Review

This is where I was on Saturday - and it was lots of fun. The kids did an excellent job and the plays were funny and well done. Walking through their Fine Arts hallway and looking at their past productions, I was in awe of what they were allowed to perform - Chekov! Shakespeare! Sondheim! At West, we didn't do no Shakespeare, and we certainly didn't do no Chekov. This March, North is doing Rent (!!!) and needless to say, I will be there with bells on.

Next up: Brett does the Viking Rumble...

I don't even like the Vikings - but this? Is flippin' hilarious. Go, Brett, go.

Young directors debut at Niles North weekend play showcase :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lincolnwood Review

This is where I will be this weekend -

Young directors debut at Niles North weekend play showcase :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lincolnwood Review

don't people butter their muffins?

I was in Einstein's this morning getting breakfast. I was very tempted by their double chocolate chip muffin, but somehow, it seemed too decadent for me (chocolate for breakfast??) so I went with a cranberry orange muffin instead (still mourning the loss of my beloved Starbucks c-o muffin). I asked for butter with it. I don't slather my muffins with butter, but I like a little bit of it. The lady seemed a little shocked that I would ask for butter with my muffin. I didn't think that was such an unusual request, but who knows....

okay, but where's the film "Arizona Statehood Day"?

Has anyone else seen the preview for this film Valentine's Day? I am intrigued/disturbed - how can you possibly have anything decent to say about so many characters? Won't they all seem kind of caricature-ish? AND it has so many - "wait, what?" casting moments - I give you: Ashton Kutcher AND Topher Grace! Julia AND Emma Roberts! The Taylors (Lautner & Swift = in LURVE)! McDreamy AND McSteamy, their collective hotness and wonderful hair. Worlds are colliding here, people, and it seems like a bit of a trainwreck happening. Like a trainwreck though, I may not be able to look away...

one more addams post...

I kept meaning to post this interview from Time Out Chicago...

Surely the decision took all of two seconds: Whom to cast as Morticia in the new musical The Addams Family? Who else but pale, raven-haired, two-time Tony Award–winner Bebe Neuwirth? The musical-theater vet stars opposite Nathan Lane in the musical based on the Charles Addams cartoons, which, after premiering in Chicago, will make its Broadway debut in March. Neuwirth recently called before a day of tech rehearsal.

Time Out Chicago: I was at a drag show last night, and the very first performer was Morticia Addams. You must realize your Morticia will inspire drag queens for years to come.
Bebe Neuwirth: [Laughs] Morticia is archetypal, so I’m not at all surprised somebody’s doing her. She’s—somebody said something about being goth, but I thought, Well, she’s goth before there was goth. People expect me to wear black nail polish, but that’s more what goth has become. That’s a little bit too obvious.

TOC: Well, I’m sure you’ll at least be a much more attractive Morticia than this guy was.
BN: Oh, I don’t know. I’ve seen some very beautiful drag queens.

TOC: It did raise a larger question: What’s it like to create a character who’s already so deeply etched in the popular imagination?
If you’re gonna play an archetype, you have to make her specific for you: What specific qualities are there for you to play?

TOC: So how do you answer that question here?
BN: Well, that’s a question I would prefer not to answer. [Laughs]

TOC: Why’s that?
BN: Because when you’re working on a character, there are aspects that, for me as an actress, I prefer not to talk about with anyone because it dissipates the energy and the focus…. I actually haven’t told my husband anything about the show because—

TOC: Your own husband?
BN: Yeah. That’s really hard.

TOC: You’re that private about it.
BN: Well, it’s not that I’m—it’s not the privacy—well, yeah, I am. But I want it to be a surprise for him; it’s so beautiful, and the directors’ vision is so great.

TOC: So when he asks, “How was your day, honey?” what do you say?
BN: I say, “There’s a moment when something happens, and this person says something, and I was having trouble saying this—something—in response.” [Laughs]

TOC: I read you guys got married just this year—how’d you cross paths?
BN: I was invited by my acting teacher who’s now a friend, a woman I’d known for 30 years, she invited me to her daughter’s art-show opening. So I was chatting with a cute guy there, you know, like you do. We were both very shy, so we just sort of parted ways. As I was leaving, my friend said, “I’d like you to meet my stepson.” And it was the guy.

TOC: Your Morticia gets to show off her gams. After dancing since age five, how’s dancing at age 50?
BN: Dancing at 50 is really great. I have two titanium-steel hips now. If I hadn’t had hip replacements, I probably wouldn’t be able to dance. I can’t kick my face anymore, but…

TOC: What happened to your hips?
BN: Arthritis. And I probably would’ve had it anyway. When I was born, they put casts on my legs ’cause I had some kind of dysplasia or something. My legs were all messed up.

TOC: It’s hard to believe just looking at you. Which reminds me of that Will & Grace episode when Jack says to you, “You’ve got the body of a 14-year-old Korean gymnast.”
BN: And I say, “Yeah, I get that a lot!”

TOC: In that scene, Jack and Karen can’t believe you’re anyone but Lilith Sternin-Crane. Were you concerned playing Morticia would strengthen people’s perception of you as this ice-queen Lilith-like figure?
BN: No, no, no, that’s their problem. They’re different characters. You know, I played Velma in Chicago, and I came off the stage and some woman said, “I didn’t know Lilith could dance.” So, you know, what are you gonna do about that? I’m playing a vaudevillian who kills her sister and her husband with an ice pick, and a woman says, “I didn’t know Lilith could dance”!

TOC: And now someone will say, “I didn’t know Lilith was a goth chick.”
BN: [Laughs] I don’t know. All I can do is make this character the best I can, as truthfully as possible, and hope the audience has a good time. There’s always one person who can’t get past something, but people like that are in the minority. Also, you know, I’m a pretty good actress.

last tango in Chicago

The Addams Family had its final performance in Chicago yesterday afternoon. Seeing it on my birthday had made me so very "hoppy" and I thought I'd go along and bid it a fond farewell. Plus, I am a bit of a nerd - I'd heard they'd been making changes and I wanted to see what had changed. I ended up in the balcony - I wanted better seats than I'd had before but not premium. I spent 87 bucks and I was STILL in nowheresville balcony land. Oy, with your ticket prices.

No matter. I had a great time. The cast was still great, and I noticed a few changes (but I honestly couldn't remember much of the first time I'd seen it. So they could have changed lots and lots of things and I would have no clue.). I don't think there is much that is fundamentally wrong with the show, but a few tweeks (or is it tweaks?) before it hits broadway might make it stronger, funnier, more focused. But I personally have no complaints. Nathan Lane (oh! How much do I love you, Nathan Lane?) made a brief thank you speech at the final curtain call. It was all, thank you for coming to our final performance... and everyone cheered and he was like What? Are you GLAD to see us leaving? No, sir, it makes me very unhoppy.

Heidi had a better seat than I did (next time, dude, you're buying for us both!) and we met back up in the lobby afterwards. I had suggested a foray to the stage door in the alley and she agreed, which was very decent of her considering it was freaking freezing cold. I have not stage door-ed for a LONG time, I do it very rarely in Chicago and never at the Oriental Theater. The stage door is in a nice little paved alley (I think it is called "Couch Alley" - fun factoid for you, yes?) and there was a nice little crowd back there. I was amused/horrified when people were calling the cast members by their character's names - "LUUUURRRCH!!" and "FESTER!" and comic/tragically "GRANDMA!" And yet they wondered why Jackie Hoffman ran quickly away. I'd run, too, if people were calling me "Grandma." I mean, COME ON. Call them by their actual NAMES. Look in the program if you have to. Geez.

Anyway - Bebe Neuwirth came out and was very gracious (even though people were calling her - not "Morticia" which would have been bad enough, but "Lillith!" which I think is worse. Even if you think of her as "Lillith" for god's sake, don't CALL HER THAT. Her actual name is above the damned marquee, okay?? Call her that instead.) She had her hands full, but stopped around to sign things and take pictures (she said she didn't want to say no, since we'd been waiting for so long...). I had my stupid camera, which ran out of batteries JUST as Heidi was starting to take the picture. Bebe looked sort of startled then she told me, "Bummer," in a sympathetic way. TOTAL bummer, Bebe. I'll just have to come and see the show in New York and try to get a picture then (note to self: charge the camera). The nerd in me is dying to know what changes they will make to the show in New York, anyway...

The security guard by the door had given us the lowdown ahead of time - Bebe usually came out and was nice, Nathan rarely exited by that door and so waiting for him would have been in vain. Oh, drat. But my camera had died anyway, so even if he HAD emerged, I would not have been able to document the occasion. Until New York, I guess...

end of year appeals

Since raising money is a big part of my job (says the master of meiosis) I am naturally very interested in how other organizations work their appeals. I got a ton of end of year stuff from everybody under the sun. I have made one big gift already this year, and am not planning any others. But this one, from the Public Theatre, almost had me whipping out my check book. I got this email and laughed out loud. The picture is tiny, but it's from Road Show. I had a front row seat to that show, and was showered by flying money that was flung about by every member of the cast. Happy memories + a funny appeal picture should equal mucho cash, and I appreciate the Public's sense of humor (are y'all looking for any development types? she asked, not entirely kidding...)

Best appeal ever.

celebrating the perfect 10!

Another New Year's Eve tradition here at ye olde blogge.

i could not resist...

Banana Shpeel Will Slip Into NYC's Beacon Later Than Expected - Playbill.com

Banana Shpeel Will Slip Into NYC's Beacon Later Than Expected - Playbill.com

AKA they need this extra time to overhaul the show between Chicago and February. Run while you still can, New York

2009 - best of the rest

I really did give up on that challenge, didn't I? Oh well. I do like writing with prompts and sometimes they have wonderful results (like that English paper!). Whatever. As they say: It's New Year's Eve (Eve) and hopes are high, dance one year in, kiss one goodbye.

Here, in no particular order, are things I loved in 2009:

-VEGAS, baby! Even though I had stomach problems during the trip, rendering the all you can eat buffet at the Mirage COMPLETELY USELESS to me, I was at large in Sin City - rhinestones, the Beatles + Cirque du Soleil = magnifique!, Sigfried and Roy's Secret Garden (sounds just wrong somehow), dancing fountains, and (finally!) my gondola ride!

-2009 also saw several performances of my Favorite Broadway Diva, Patti Lu - in St. Louis with Mandy Patinkin, in Vegas (where she stopped the show!), and at Ravinia (accompanied at the end by Mr. Kauffman at the piano)

- Speaking of St. Louis, I asked myself that time honored question: What Would Patti LuPone do in St. Louis with some time to kill - and figured that, obviously, she would climb fearlessly to the top of the arch, so by god, I decided to do that too. Are you afraid of heights or confined places, the ticket guy asked me "Haha - I guess we'll find out!" I gaily replied. Never again. No matter what Patti tells me to do.

- Speaking of Ravinia, it was another great season, if a chilly one. I was at the Park and dancing in the aisles, with my glitter lantern and jelly ring(s) for the Arrival from Sweden concert (music of ABBA, baby!) and then again for Patti in the 7 Deadly Sins, Kelli O'Hara, and the Bill T. Jones dance commission Fondly do we hope...

- Jane the Fraudulent Bell Ringer

- U2 at Soldier Field

- U2 at Soldier Field

- U2 at Soldier Field

- U2 at Soldier Field

- Earl Grey Vanilla Creme tea lattes at Argo

- Albee the Holiday Elephant

- Lord Peter Wimsey

- Broadway in Chicago: particularly Spring Awakening, Legally Blonde, the Addams Family, In the Heights (am seeing that this weekend!) and eager anticipation of Billy Elliot, the return of August: Osage County

- the Live Bait vending machine (what the WHAT?), the book barn, and trying to start a fire in Green Lake, Wisconsin

- the Cheese Castle in Kenosha and their temptingly delicious array of cheese curds

- the song "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga

- Ballet! Particularly Carousel (A Dance) by Christopher Wheeldon, Lar Lubovitch's Othello, and Gerald Arpino's Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker

- Glee!!!!!

- Lindt chocolates

- BOOTS!

- the color purple (no, literally, the color purple)

- the Viking Rumble (everybody...RUMBLE!)

- my new team, the Indianapolis Colts (even though they blew their perfect record last week. WTF?)

- Sugar Bliss spice cupcakes

- 30 Rock

- Flight of the Conchords

- Lill 1154 sample sales and my new Hadley bag

- Eric Northman, True Blood and all of the Sookieverse

- my free subscription to Time Out New York (I don't want you to end!!)

- the 6 foot nutcracker

- Karen, my Physical Therapist.

- my heating pad (I KNOW. OLD.)

Oh, there must be more. There must be. It was a pretty good year, all things considered. I still haven't learned to purl, but that's what resolutions are for, yes?

Addams Family Therapy...

So the show needs a little work before heading out east - I think it has a lot of potential and I am planning to see the final show on January 10 - anyone wanna come? (PS Who died and made Chris Jones the king of Chicago theater critics? I don't usually read the Tribune and so had no idea he was considered "the city's most influential theater critic" I certainly am not that influenced by him...)


From Today's New York Times... December 29, 2009
Revisions for ‘Addams Family’ By PATRICK HEALY
The producers of “The Addams Family,” one of the major new musicals scheduled for Broadway this spring, announced on Monday that they have hired the Tony Award-winning director Jerry Zaks to take over the $16.5 million production and supervise significant changes.

Based on The New Yorker cartoons of Charles Addams, “The Addams Family” began its pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago this month and received several positive reviews from critics — but also a pointedly tough one full of criticism from that city’s most influential theater critic, Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune, who concluded that the show “needs to be funnier and more visually spontaneous.”

Echoing parts of The Tribune review, the musical’s lead producers, Stuart Oken and Roy Furman, said that the plot needed to focus more tightly on the Addams family members and that all — starting with Gomez (played by Nathan Lane) and Morticia (Bebe Neuwirth) — needed their eccentric and subversive personalities clearly established in dialogue and song before the main action of the plot begins.

The feedback from critics, colleagues and friends, Mr. Oken said, “is that perhaps we were taking a little too much for granted assuming that the audience walks in with the relationship with the Addams family fully intact, and we didn’t appropriately reconnect the audience to the family members.”

No one on the creative team has left the show or been fired, Mr. Oken said, with Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (both Broadway newcomers) still listed as the directors and production designers, and Mr. Zaks billed as creative consultant. But when asked who was running the show from here on, Mr. Oken replied, “Jerry, with Phelim and Julian having meaningful input.”

Mr. Zaks is close to Mr. Lane, having directed him in the long-running Broadway musical revivals of “Guys and Dolls” in 1992 and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” in 1996, for which Mr. Lane won the Tony Award for best actor in a musical. Mr. Oken and Mr. Furman said Mr. Lane neither demanded nor requested that Mr. Zaks or any other show doctor be hired.

Mr. Zaks was not available for comment on Monday, his assistant said, but relayed a prepared statement in an e-mail message, saying that he “enjoyed the show enormously” and that he was delighted to “take this original musical to the next level.”

Mr. Zaks had been scheduled to direct “All About Me,” another new musical on Broadway this spring, but Mr. Oken said that he and Mr. Zaks asked the lead producer of that show, Jeffrey Richards, to release Mr. Zaks, and that he had done so.

The two lead “Addams” producers were at pains in a telephone interview on Monday to emphasize that the show was not in trouble, with Mr. Furman volunteering three times that hiring Mr. Zaks was “not being done defensively or out of weakness.” But they acknowledged that the musical, which is capitalized at $16.5 million for Broadway, needs changes to improve its hopes for a long run and a potentially lucrative life as a touring production.

Broadway producers have a long history of using so-called show doctors to make fixes, from Jerome Robbins to Neil Simon to, most recently, the Tony Award-winning choreographer Rob Ashford, who assisted on “Shrek the Musical.”

Mr. Jones, the theater critic, as well as some theater producers who have seen “The Addams Family,” said the cast members were well matched to their parts, but that some lacked enough big numbers and charming moments. Mr. Jones also noted that Ms. Neuwirth “looks like she’s not having much fun,” a point that the two lead producers denied. They added that Ms. Neuwirth (a Tony Award winner for “Chicago” and “Sweet Charity”) did not ask that the musical’s directors be replaced by Mr. Zaks or someone else.

None of the cast members could be reached for comment on Monday.

it's christmas time in the city...

It's been a very eventful few days off - but the halls are decked, the presents are (finally) wrapped, a new pair of winter boots have been procured, the fruitcake has been sliced, so it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I hope you've all been good!

candyland...

Today is our holiday lunch (!) and we were encouraged to bring a dessert (or, if we didn't want to bake, we were gently encouraged to get something delicious at Sweet Mandy B's). I baked some festive brownies (oh, stop. They have funfetti chips in them, not POT, although I suppose that would also be very festive...)

And I also really wanted to try the candy recipe below, which came from Tina Nordstrom's book, A Culinary Tour of Sweden and from the companion show on PBS,New Scandinavian Cooking.

The recipe is deceptively simple:

1/2 lb (250 g) nougat
1/4 lb. (125 g) dark chocolate
2 oz (50 g) flaked almonds
2 oz (50 g) chopped roasted hazelnuts 1.75 oz (50 g) raisins
2 oz (50 g) walnuts
Zest of 1 orange

This is how you do it:
Melt the nougat and chocolate in a saucepan over another saucepan with boiling water. When it is completely melted together, mix in the nuts.
Line a bread loaf tin with waxed paper. Pour in the mixture. Let it harden for a few hours in the fridge before removing it.

The major stumbling block here (any guesses?) is the first ingredient: nougat. I am not even officially sure what nougat actually IS, making it really hard to determine a possible substitute. Which we had to do, because I don't know if you know this? But it is nearly impossible to find nougat anywhere. Not at Dominick's, Jewel, Michael's (although they did have a variety of cake/candy making things), The Home Economist or Produce World. Rather than just chuck the whole affair, we decided eventually to substitute almond paste - either that or make our own nougat, which seemed more time consuming than the actual recipe.

So, ingredients decided, we started melting the chocolate and almond paste. Well, sort of. The paste didn't melt as such, but we mushed it up as best as we could. Added the nuts and zest and mushed the whole thing up some more. Then we dumped the whole thing into the wax paper lined bread loaf tin and threw it into the fridge to harden up.

Taste it (as Tina might say) - it was essentially chocolate covered almond goo. With nuts. Not bad, but I don't really think that's what they had in mind with the recipe. I didn't bring any of it to work today, though. Just the brownies.

You're welcome, co-workers. And Merry Christmas.

things i've learned... from english class

For some reason, mom & I got to talking recently about topics for English class papers and I recalled my most favorite English-paper story I have. And, for no particular reason, I have decided to share it with all of you.

So, in 8th grade, I was assigned a paper wherein I had to describe a time where I was afraid. Oh, and it had to be true. I love to write and so I thought this would be a piece of cake, but when the time came to put pen to paper (this was 1993, after all!) I couldn't think of anything good enough to write. You don't want to go baring your soul to your English teacher, after all, to give them ammunition to use against you at a later date. So, I made something up. It was quite spectacularly made up, too, something about a lake house in Wisconsin, and a boat, and a bad storm and some made up cousins(fake! fake! fake! fake!). I turned it in and thought nothing of it. When my teacher, I will call her Miss Smith(that was her name) handed them back to us, she gave us all this HUGE lecture about how some of the papers were made up and that she was SO disappointed and she could totally TELL which ones were fact and which were fiction. I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into my seat. Crap I thought, for I was a goody two-shoes at heart and a teacher's pet besides and I hated the thought that I was about to get busted. Only... I didn't. When she handed back my paper, I had an A ++ (no really. She actually gave plus pluses) and I think but I don't exactly remember that I had to read it out to the class, as a shining example of how to write true experiences or something like that. She never found me out either, and my straight As in English happily continued.

Until... My freshman year. I was in honors English and had a cute little lady called Miss Nash as my teacher. It was not a great class, we had to read some tome called The King Must Die over the summer and it SUCKED. I didn't actually read it, as such, so I couldn't tell you what it was on about except the dude, in the end, killed the minotaur or some such thing. What more do you need to know? And Miss Nash HATED my writing. She gave me Bs. This was a stunning blow to me as I had, as you noted above, always done quite well in English class.

But then... she assigned a paper on - you guessed it - a time when you were afraid. It wasn't exactly the SAME topic, but close enough to haul out me old A++ chestnut, do a little revision, and hand it in to her too. It was the same thing, fictional cousins (named "Hank" and "Michaela" from my DQMW fangirl days. How she never caught on to that one, I will never know), a lake house, boat trip, bad storm - SO SCARED!
And yes, I got the highest grade I ever got from Miss Nash on that essay. She even suggested that I submit it to our literary magazine, as the shining example of scholarship it so clearly was. It pissed me off, actually, that I should work so hard on actual essays and they were apparently crap, and then I pull something totally out of the air, and not one, but TWO teachers really loved it.

The lesson I took from this was clearly not the plot of The King Must Die, but that my ability to bullshit was developed at a very early age, and the knack for making shit up has come in very handy not only in my school career, but also in my work as well!

sometimes, winter IS my favorite season...

Especially when it's part of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, played by Nigel Kennedy...

teatime 2009

Today's challenge prompt - my favorite tea!
My dad was recently told by his doctor to start drinking tea and walking. He struck a deal with me - I will drink the tea and do the walking FOR him and he will reap the benefits vicariously. I don't mind a bit - I love tea! It started, funnily enough, when I was in high school, and took a trip to London with the drama department*. On the plane, I decided to do the thing right, and drink a cup of tea when the beverage trolley came around. I do drink coffee, but I am instantly comforted by a nice hot cup of tea and since my stomach is annoyed by coffee, I've switched to tea. I'm not right in the morning until I've had my tea. When I make it on my own here at the office, I like Tazo's Awake Tea. But since I work about a block from Argo Tea, I will sometimes, when I need a treat (like today!) pop over there and get an Earl Grey Vanilla Creme Tea Latte. Earl Grey tea (which I actually don't like on its own), vanilla, and steamed milk. I am drinking one now!

(Hot tea and a good book - is there anything better?

Unfortunately, I'm at work, so will not be reading until lunch!)

* Best.Trip.Ever. It was my first time away from home and out of the country, our chaperones buggered off to go drinking and so we were left to our own devices, despite promises made to our parents!! One of my classmates snuck out of our crazy hotel and took himself to see Buckles in Sunset Boulevard. I remember a particularly happy solo excursion as I wandered Piccadilly Circus - alone - shopping and puttering around. I wasn't worried at all, I felt perfectly safe. Plus, I knew how to get back to the hotel so who cared??

joy in a little round box...

Best packaging2009
Thought I’d forgotten about this, eh? Well, okay, I did. But I am putting forth an entry today – on my favorite packaging of 2009. I’m in the office, working to a deadline, of course, and a friend/colleague/consultant writes to me – what can I do? Bring chocolate? To which I responded, yes, please! Joking, but not. Who can say no to chocolate? Not I! And, in an act of true heroics, she came to the office bearing NOT bags of Hershey kisses (for which I would have been grateful!) but gorgeous boxes of Vosges chocolate.

The one I chose came in a darling little round purple box – like a mini hat box, with a little purple ribbon. See above. I consumed the candy and saved the box. I have jewelry in it now…

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Just so you don't think I've gone completely gaga, I played my holiday playlist on the way here and then I was stomping** through Daley Plaza listening to the "Cell Block Tango" from "Chicago" (with Bebe singing, of course!!!) So I haven't gone ALL Marshmallow World on you all...





** In my rain boots! Happy to report I have not fallen down since last week! A personal best, I should think!

it's the most wonderful time of the year (no, really!)

I feel much more in the Christmas spirit this year, for some reason. Last year, I felt merely as though I were going through the motions - everything was a chore, done mechanically, oh, must put up the tree, wrap the presents, work at the theater... but this year, happily, I have been restored to the spirit of the season (praise the lord and pass the mashed potatoes!!).

We put up our tree yesterday and it was so much fun to pull out the traditional decorations and put them up just so. And I've loved buying gifts for all those special people on my list this year (you know who you are) although I must stop with the commerce right now, for that sound? Is my checking account gently weeping. I have heard some rumor about an extra paycheck in 2009 - I sincerely hope this is true.

I have also had my annual injection of Sugar Plum delight, brought to me by The Nutcracker. This is my third year here, and thus my third year of working Nutcracker performances. Oh, it is joy unbounded all right (where is the "sarcasam" font on the computer anyway??) but it's all part of the season. Glitter and nutcrackers and the smell of slightly worn satin ballet slippers will forever equal Christmas to me.

I even made a holiday playlist for my ipod of all my favorite holiday songs and I have been listening to it on my morning commute. So here, for your listening pleasure, I am sure, is one of the songs on that rocking holiday playlist that I was listening to this morning, brought to you by the Three Tenors. If you think you've heard "Sleigh Ride" before, well, let me tell you. You ain't never heard it like this.

doggy christmas....

this is so cute i can't even stand it...

music09

What's rocking my world these days, you ask? There's been lots of stuff - in 2009 I've been listening to Lily Allen, Lady Gaga, the Spring Awakening cast album, U2's No Line on the Horizon, Taylor Swift, Patti LuPone, The Beatles Love, Renee Fleming and probably more that I'm not even recalling now. I have my ipod with me always, it's my best friend on my daily commute - and now it's an extra sassy purple 5th generation one, pulsing with my favorite tunes!!! What's been on constant play lately though have been the Glee cast albums. Oh how I love that show and these albums! I love Matthew Morrison singing Kanye West's "Gold Digger" and duetting with Kristin Chenoweth on "Alone" (LOVE THAT ONE!) I love Lea Michele's voice singing anything. After a crappy day at work, nothing was better than to put on pjs and watch our friends in "New Directions" compete in sectionals - against all odds and stolen set lists, pulling two new songs out of their hats in an hour. Awesome. My inner choir nerd has been awakened. Not that she's ever been far. Glee, my life really would suck without you.

Challenge 2009 Art Isn't Easy...

Today's task: describe something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

Based on this week I might say it's getting my hands on workable winter gear. I have lived in this danged city MY.WHOLE.LIFE and I still don't have a decent pair of winter boots. The Merrells I bought have these zippers that worked their way undone while I was walking to and from work. I would stop to zip them up and then I'd feel one of them coming loose again. FAIL, Merrell. FAIL.

No, okay, seriously. Wet feet and trying to walk to work without toppling headfirst into major intersections are not (surprisingly?) my greatest challenge this year.

I guess I would have to say that my job has really made me grow this year. We're a small department, and everyone has to hold their own. I feel like I've grown a lot and learned lots of new things, and I keep getting more responsibilities so I'm gonna keep growing! Pushed to the edge and then some? Oh, definitely. When one writes institutional grants for funding, there is the constant pressure of deadlines and making sure everything is just so. Managing these relationships so that people want to KEEP giving us funding. Finding NEW sources of funding and learning, first hand what everyone is talking about in terms of these "tough economic times" - major corporations losing money = no money (or less money) to give non-profits like mine. Stock market issues effect (or affect?) the portfolios of individuals AND foundations and so they have less money to give as well. It's gotta come from somewhere, right??

I love my job (usually) but it's been a challenge because after all... "Having just a vision's no solution, everything depends on execution... the art of making art, is putting it together."

2009 moment of peace

If I was really cool, right here I could tell you how I achieve Zen by the art of meditation (on a noodle?) and extremely difficult yoga poses, drinking green tea and playing finger chimes. But I'm not cool like that. My most peaceful moments are those when I am completely relaxed, maybe reading a book while lying on my bed, with a warm kitty curled up by my side.

blog find of 09

Since I forgot to post yesterday, you get 2 of these for the price of one (good deal, yes?) so... I am a creature of habit, and I frequent the same blogs/websites on a daily basis. When a new one is introduced, I simply add it to the rotation. But something that is totally addictive that I just really started doing this year, is Facebook. I love reading updates from people I went to grade school with, for example, and keeping track of other friends that I don't get to see very often. So there you go. Not very exciting, but that's my "find" of the year. I wonder how long peope will stay interested in recording their movements so closely online, but as long as people want to do it, I will read and update my status too.

truly, a day that will live in infamy...

So I took the early train this morning, and am slip-sliding my way down the streets of Chicago. Get to Wacker and Washington, start to cross and fall FACE FIRST into Wacker Drive, hitting my chin on the way down and soaking myself in the process. Now my face kind of hurts.

Wlecome to Monday - is this the kind of week it's going tobe?

Conference 09: The ILCDP

December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?

This year, in my on-going quest to Become a Better Grant Writer, I visited both the Donors' Forum Library and attended several workshops hosted at the Chicago Cultural Center, including one centering around the development and implementation of the Illinois Cultural Data Project.



The arts sector is notoriously flaky - for the most part it's - "Business model? What business model? We're ARTISTS, man!" Which makes it very difficult to "benchmark" or track stats that other sectors do pretty naturally. Several years ago, The Pew Charitable Trusts in PA started a data collection system for non-profit arts groups. These organizations could use this online module, free of charge and input financials, admission info, ticket and marketing info, all kinds of great stuff. With the click of a mouse, all kinds of useful financial reports could be generated and submitted to funders as a part of their grant process, in a standardized way. Other organizations can also access some of this information to benchmark certain aspects of business. Funders and advocates can also access some of this information, like how large is the arts sector in Illinois? How much revenue does it generate? How many people are employed as part of this sector? all of which makes it WAY easier to appeal to state and national governments for arts funding.**



A group of corporate and foundation funders in Illinois adapted this model and have started implementing it here, hence the ILCDP training session I had to attend. It is internet-based, and requires A LOT of data entry. Naturally, the way they would like to see the information entered is totally different from the way we have it in our audited statements etc, and so despite the fact that we had an intern input FY2007 and FY2008 in the summer, we only just finished submitting this stuff to the CDP.



But I think it will (eventually) be really helpful in our grant process, especially with generating the specialized reports. Quick and easy are always good!!



** In case anyone in Illinois was wondering, our state arts budget was cut hugely this year, with grants coming in about 50% less than they were last year.

2009 Best Night Out - Love & A Rocket Ship...

The best night out in 2009 was undoubtedly the U2 360 concert at Soldier Field. There are several outings I have had with my girls, Heidi & Jane, that qualify as Life's Most Perfect Moments - I would count Edwin's concert at Navy Pier, any of our rock boat trips, and, well, this evening (which is why - DUH - it qualifies as the Best Night Out of 2009.)

On a gorgeous day, that was more summerlike than fall, we spent time at MSI, had dinner at Leona's and then... it was time to see THE BAND. Nobody else reduces me to a quivering jelly pile of fan girl like Bono, the Edge, Larry and Adam. As soon as we paid our $45 bucks for parking (!!!!) we were in - with thousands & thousands of our closest friends, who were tailgating in the parking lot, listening to U2 on their radios. Ah yes, girls, we're in the right place!

The evening was pure magic...Standing on our feet the whole time, singing along at the top of our lungs with everyone else...one of the best moments was when Bono asked the crowd to hold up their collective cell phones (because yes, we all had them, and yes, we all had them ON, to take photos, to leave a voicemail message for ourselves at work, etc etc etc) so he could see us all, like tiny stars in the blackness of the night... our own little constellation, he called us...

The giant crazy stage with its huge screens so that the band was constantly visible no matter where you were sitting. Larger than life, in every possible way.

Magnificent, indeed.

best book - 2009

Today's task:
December 4 Book. What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?

Well, I don't know the Secret (but I have come close to discovering Victoria's Secret - ba dum bum!), what color my parachute is or even who moved my cheese. The book that moved me was A Lion Called Christian the true story of two Aussie blokes and their adopted pet... lion. They eventually set him free in Africa and when they visited him later on, he greeted them joyously. The reunion has been set to "I Will Always Love You" sung by Whitney Houston and posted on youtube. It's making me cry just sitting here typing about it. There is a kids book version of the story, which I spotted in Target last weekend and I was all a-blither just paging through it (I may or may not be receiving said kids picture book as a Christmas present).

What is it about this story? I loved reading about the bond forged between these guys and this lion, how they bought him from Harrods (of all places) and cared for him in the basement of an furniture shop in London. Then they had to teach him how to BE a lion when they brought him to Africa.

come for the food, stay for the...

Still playing catch up on the 2009 challenge - here's yesterday's prompt: Restaurant Moment Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?

I would probably have to say Baker's Square wins this. We usually end up there after our usual dining decision making process which goes something like this:

What do you want for dinner?
I dunno. Food.... And it's (Heidi/Kristen/Jane/whoever)'s choice night!!

This goes on for quite a while, usually. Someone will put forth some suggestions and we will narrow them down OR sometimes we let fate decide. More often than not? Baker's Square. Obviously, this wins the category not because the food is so completely amazing (it's not. But the pie is!) but because it's our hangout. We've had some completely outrageous/hillarious conversations there.

And hey - Wednesday? Is free pie night.

Mason's sad song | Crain's Chicago Business

Mason's sad song | Crain's Chicago Business

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the best of 2009...

Ooh, goody, I love a challenge! And I'm already behind, so let's start with:

Best trip of 2009:
Well, that's a no-brainer -

Yeah! Vegas, baby! Aside from the fact that it was pretty much the ONLY trip I took in 2009, it was, anyway, the best trip. It is CRAZY there - anything you want, you can get, any time you want it. Even for a traveler on her own who wasn't playing, there was much to do and see and look at. What a heady experience (or is that the oxygen they pump in?)! I saw my first Cirque show & Patti & walk up margarita stands & swim up bars & tacky souvenirs & lots of rhinestones & yards upon yards of 'yikes-my-retinas-are-burning-ugly-ass-carpet.'

i love toy trains...

I swear, if Heidi hadn't shown me this clip, I would not have believed it (woman! where DO you find these things?)... The man loves his trains, okay? And I am sure he even has some on his lawn, as part of his holiday tableau, right next to the traditional holiday elephant...

the addams family

I went to the theater last night brimming with anticipation - really, people, do you know how long I have WAITED to see Nathan Lane in a musical in Chicago? A very very very very long time, ever since no one wanted to go to The Producers with me back in whenever that little show made its pre-Broadway run here (2001? 2000?). Yeah, you know how it goes. A little show comes out to Chicago, hoping to go to Broadway, and then it dies here and no one hears from it again. Oh, wait, I'm sorry - The Producers went on to win something like 13 Tony's. And no.one.wanted.to.see.it.with.me. Then when they finally DID want to see it with me it was TOO LATE because you could not get tickets for love nor money. And THEN I got over it and went to New York on my own, and I still never saw it with the original cast because the tickets were so expensive. And I'm still bitter (have you noticed??) - but we will leave that tale of woe for another time and just say that I've been wanting to see Mr. Lane live for a very long time. With Bebe Neuwirth, no less. Tickets on my birthday? Oh yes, please. A little gift (aw, such good taste! you know me so well) - from me to me.

Anyway. Back to the show. It opens with our titular gruesome family in the graveyard, saying goodbye to daughter Wednesday (Krysta Rodriguez). No, she hasn't died, she's simply grown up, and has to embrace the family values by making several promises to the assembled clan - dad Gomez (Mr. Lane), mommy Morticia (Ms. Neuwirth), Uncle Fester (Kevin Chamberlin), brother Pugsley (Adam Riegler), Grandma Somebody (whose, we're not quite sure, but the old girl DOES smoke a lot of pot in the attic - played by Jackie Hoffman), and Lurch (the splendidly large-voiced Zachary James). But Wednesday has a secret - she's in love with a wonderful guy, who makes her think of sunshine and rainbows and makes her want to wear yellow. Mom makes her invite the boy and his family, from the exotic land of Ohio, over to the house for dinner. Wednesday pleads with her parents to be normal, so the Beinekes will like them so she can continue to see her boyfriend, Lucas.

Well, I am sure you can guess that mayhem ensues as the family attempts to be "normal" and during the course of the meal, "The Game" is played - it's full disclosure time. A drink from the family chalice and then you spill a secret. Without giving anything away here, a prank by Pugsley meant for his sister goes wrong, the Beinekes make for the door, but a hurricane pops up (!) requiring the guests to stay in chez Addams for the night. It's all about love and family, about growing old (the never ending cycle of life, death and dried fruit - pefect for this old prune on her birthday!), about finding yourself, and all that other great stuff. What big splashy musical dreams are made of, and all that. The entire cast was magnificent - they sing! they dance! they collect instruments of torture! I knew I'd love Nathan and Bebe, and they were wonderful (what STAR POWER!) but the entire cast was solid.

The show was everything I wanted it to be and more - complete with monsters under the bed, unexpected sword fighting, humor and charm in spades, sexy tangos (I am channeling Bruno Tonioli here and saying, with a raised paddle and pump of the fist "TEN! You are the GODDESS of the TANGO! Spectacular! Spectacular!) and, well, a giant squid.

I'm going again. Who's coming with me?

fabulous friday!

It's Friday! It's not even 8:30 and I am already in need of a stiff drink! Work is crazy, I found gray hairs on my head last week and, oh yeah, I'm turning the big 3-1 on Tuesday. It's enough to make a girl/old lady crawl back into bed with a bottle of something strong and not emerge for a very very long time. Had made plans to celebrate early with a trip to Ann Arbor to see Ms. Patti today, but decided to nix it. With age comes responsibility and the dreaded logic. Ugh. So many people wanting me to have serious thoughts these days. What a bore.

But anyway. Will celebrate in style on Tuesday with dinner at Petterino's and...

I am so excited to see this one. There's actually lots of stuff I am excited to see around here these days, all coming up in November/December/January, part of the reason that I decided against going to the Mitten today. But we were talking about the Addams Family. I love Nathan & Bebe and have never seen either of them perform live (have I ever told you my tale of woe vis-a-vis the Producers???) and when I heard this was coming AND there was a performance on my birthday I bought tickets (rather impulsively, without bothering to check everyone's availability which caused some calendric consternation, but as my grandmother might say, hey-who.). Will report in full next week. Whee!

banana split

Had comp tickets last night to the final dress rehearsal of Cirque du Soleil's new Banana Shpeel. Let me back up by saying that I had never seen a Cirque du Soleil show before last June, when I was in Vegas. I remember seeing ads for previous Cirque ventures that had come to Chicago and thinking that it looked too weird, too over the top, too...too. You know? But they do that well in Vegas, you see, and so I decided that in order to make the experience complete, I needed to take the plunge and see a Cirque show. I saw The Beatles Love, and I loved it. Every scene tied those familiar songs (re-mixed so that even they seemed new and exciting) with dance, acrobatics, aerials, roller skates! Each thing was bigger and more impressive than the next and I sat on the edge of my seat the whole time wondering what they would do next. I left the theater amazed, impressed and pledged my troth to the Cirque du Soleil. That's right, I wanted to find an Elvis chapel and marry Love. Je t'aime, je t'adore, c'est magnifique, le sange est sur le branche etc etc etc. Next time a show rolled into town, I vowed my support.

Fast forward to the announcement of Banana Shpeel - singing, dancing and vaudeville, right up my proverbial alley? And actually, next door to my actual alley, at the Chicago Theatre next to the office. Fast forward again to last night, final dress rehearsal and the house was jam packed. BIG SPOILERS BELOW!!!

Let me say right away that the concept of the show - an old fashioned vaudeville type variety show, with a funky Cirque twist in dance, slapstick, etc, is a good one. There were lots of different elements kind of thrown together, an Uncle Jocko style vaudeville impressario by the name of Shmelky and two clown emcees, running an audition for Shmelky's show. A very long running gag of people being "chosen" from the audience - including the World's Oldest Mime with a walker, a gawky skinny dude with big glasses who did modern dance, most often in his underwear, and a guy who reminded me of Jemaine Clement, whose "talent" was imitating regular people with foot problems. This mainly entailed his wandering around the stage going "ow. ow. ow." And so on. These slapstick skits were placed among scenes from the actual show, Shmelky's Banana Shpeel which included singing, lots of dancing, magic, a little crazy Shakespeare (!) and some assorted interesting things - a puppet come to life who juggled bright red hats (impressive!) a girl who spun these little cloth things on her feet while lying on her back. Then she juggled a guitar with her feet, and spun those cloth things on her hands and feet while standing on her head. Question: how do you learn that you have a talent for such a thing? I don't know, but talented she undoubtedly was. There was also a fabulously hot guy who did some dancing/acrobatics with a pole - hard to explain. Was clearly the highlight of the show.

So....It was an okay show. Good but not great. I laughed at the slapstick stuff, but some of it went on WAY too long. I really enjoyed the dancing and the pretty costumes (there is a part where Shmelky breaks up a clown fight by yelling "Shiny object! Shiny object!" and I am TOTALLY the same way.) It felt a little disjointed, and there was some, but not much, effort to put the crazy characters in it and sometimes it seemed like they were in an entirely different show. If I had never seen a Cirque show before, I don't think I would have wanted to see another one based on this. I think they were somewhat limited, also, by the size of the stage. No aerial stuff, which was too bad. I would actually see it again, later in the run, just to see if they made any adjustments/attempts to tighten anything up. It should have been Spectacular, Spectacular, with no words in the vernacular to describe this great event... it was a nice evening out, and fun to see, but I don't think anywhere near the standard of the show I saw in Vegas. This is perhaps unfair, since it is the only point of reference I have to Cirque performances. But it's what I've got, and so take this for what you will.

I am channeling Hedy Weiss now and giving this a "Somewhat recommended."

attack of the 6 foot nutcracker!

He's coming to get you!!! There is a contest on to name him - go here to give it your best shot!

top models, a laugh & an "a-ha" moment

Let's start with the midget models - so called because this is the "shortie" season where only girls under 5'7" were allowed to compete. The girls all whine about how the industry doesn't accept short girls, like they were all dwarves or something. People - I am short. Girls who are 5'7"? Not short! And the top two (the stunning Nicole and the cute as a button, aw-shucks who me? Laura - my 2 faves so yay!) can't be any shorter than 5'7". In fact, the shortest competitor in the house was Sundai who was 5'3". One of Tyra's best most hi-larious comments to her "You photograph short." Well hello. She IS short! Stomp to the death next week!!

The laugh came this morning, courtesy of the CMA awards (via CBS news). I am not a big country fan, but even I became a fan of Taylor Swift after the whole Kanye thing (what a jerk! Let's have Matthew Morrison sing ALL of his songs from now on, ok? I LUURVE his "Golddigger" on the Glee cast recording!). They got him back though, with hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley singing a very country ditty with lyrics that went like this: "Mommas, don't let yer babies grow up to be... Kanye..." Oh how I laughed. Maybe I CAN be a little bit country... oh, okay maybe not. I look bad in hats, and I'd have to move to Texas or something. Yikes. But anyway, it was funny.

The "a-ha" moment came last night during Glee... someone I know mentioned to me that Matthew Morrison had been in Light in the Piazza, which I had seen at LCT with Kelli O'Hara and Victoria Clark. I loved it but did not remember him at all (sorry!!), and I kept meaning to dig out the playbill and take a good look, but I kept forgetting to do it. Until last night. Lo and behold, there he was! I'd seen him after all, as Fabrizio! And I didn't remember it! Well, come on, it was 6 years ago already! It was kind of like when I looked at my Rent cast album and figured out that Jesse L. Martin was on it. I was all like "No way! The Law & Order guy?" (oh, honey. They're ALL Law & Order guys!!) "He SINGS??" etc. The light went on, and I had finally figured it out. Took a long time for me to work that one out, too. Sometimes it ain't pretty.

i dreamed a dream...

So Susan Boyle was on the Dancing with the Stars results show last night (as completely shameless filler), singing her "signature song" (or, like, her ONLY song) "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Mis. And she was... fine. She has a nice voice, I still don't see what's particularly amazing about it. I am happy for her earning the recognition she has, and all that, but buying a whole album? I think not.

Anyway, I can't actually listen to the song without hearing Patti's voice bellowing in my head "SHUT UUPPPPP! Work it OUT! Stop your WHINING!" This is also a problem when watching Les Mis, since it makes me giggle. "Mate, pull me a pint, I've got a revolution to sit out..." I also can't watch the barricade scene without wondering if one of them is Fantine, pretending to be a smelter...

oh, patti...

Every so often, as the mood strikes, I go over here to see what my favorite Diva (and fellow paesana, although we are not Sicilian) is up to. This week, we struck gold, as she has updated her "Ramblings from the Road."

Read them. Go on. I will give you a minute. She's so random and stream of consciousness, she'll tell you about appliances, her love/hate relationship with the post office/bank/moving company/whoever is irritating her at the moment, good places to eat (which are oftentimes really great - witness, Hole in the Wall in Deerfield), books, whatever happens to come to mind. Much like an email you'd get from a far away friend, chatty, antecdotal... a little bit of happy and a little bit of sad.

The best thing about this last one though, is that she tacks on her trip to Australia and New Zealand - pretty much last. If I went to Australia OR New Zealand, (well, chances are I'd still be there, actually, having found my very own Bret/Jemaine/Hugh Jackman/tanned surfer hunk/weaver/shepard and setting up house there somewhere. Actually, we have a BRILLIANT PLAN to expand our Chicago resort and casino to Sydney. Second to none - too right, babe! Throw another steak on the barbie. No worries!) I'd be talking about that, like, first. You probably wouldn't get me to shut up about it, actually. I'd start all my stories with "Well, you know, when I was in SYDNEY..." or whatever. But not Patti. And that? Is why I aime her so much. (I am sure you NEVER would have guessed how much I enjoy the stream of consciousness, since this post has gone off in so many different directions, it's a little bit nuts...)

Sidebar - I totally thought that the "crocs" she mentions in her quote meant the shoes and not actual crocodiles. I thought that maybe she too had heard the Ayers Rock story that a guide told my friends (who DID go to Australia and are behaving much better about it than I would have. They hardly ever start any conversations with "Well, when I was CLIMBING THE HARBOR BRIDGE IN SYDNEY..." etc. And I totally would work it in as much as possible. We've established this.). Apparently (and correct me here if I am wrong, Heidi, for I know you are reading this!) some guy climbed Ayers Rock in his crocs and they MELTED on his feet! It was just that hot.

But no, Patti did not mention Ayers Rock, nor about climbing it in her crocs which is quite inadvisable in any case. She also leaves us with news of her book, which she says is coming next year. I will be first in line (possibly in my crocs) to read it, even though she wonders if it will be interesting.

Oh, Patti...

why is it everyone now is a pain in the a***???

So last night, I was on the train home. I had a good book, and I settled into my seat for a nice 1/2 hour of reading. The best part about Metra is that mainly suburban businesspeople ride it. It's quiet as they settle down with the WSJ and occasionally their beers (??). There is none of that CTA skeeziness, which I appreciate. And I always get a seat, unlike when I take the purple line "express" home at rush hour... oh, and there is no sexual harassment by creeps on the Metra, either. Everyone keeps to themselves and it's all rather civilized.

Now. Where was I? I had my book, and I was reading. Usually I will also have my ipod on, to drown out any conversation or noise or whatever. But this book I really had to pay attention to. The language is so rich and gorgeously written that I like to focus on it. Also, it's a mystery, and I have the feeling that I could pick up some clues if I really, really pay attention. So. On the train. Book. No ipod. It's getting good. Across the way from me, some chick starts yacking away on her cell phone. Like, loudly. As in, I could hear every word and irritating nuance of the conversation. This, in an otherwise TOTALLY SILENT train car. Whatever, though, right? I sort of put my hand to my ear, and turned to the window as much as I could, and went back to the book. Phone chick hangs up. Well, that's good, right? Wrong. She promptly launches into ANOTHER conversation, at top volume, and it's totally about nothing. In fact, it was about her having the first cup of coffee from her company's new coffeemaker. I don't know the place she works, but she could totally see Union Station from her window. You see? Loud enough so I could hear details.

Yeah, so that's annoying. I've moved to the giving her nasty looks across the aisle and muttering huffily into my book, heard only by its pages. Blah blah blah blah blah. Loud loud, "Like, Ohmigod" blah blah blah.

Then, the guy in front of me puts his paper down with a snap, turns to the side and says, loudly and pointedly "Do you REALLY think we all want to hear your phone conversation?" Oh boy. Stunned (but grateful) silence on behalf of the other passengers. Phone chick lowers her voice, finishes her conversation, hangs up and is mercifully silent for the rest of the ride. My new hero businessman shook out his newspaper and muttered "UNbelieveable" before resuming his careful perusing of the business section.

Funnily enough though, HIS phone went off about 2 seconds later. He had a brief, terse conversation in low tones and then hung up as if to say "THAT's how it's done, bitches."

Anyway. The rest of the ride passed without incident. I wish more people were mindful of gabbing on their phones in public places without having to be told off. I admit to being guilty of this myself, although I try and keep train conversations brief and to the point without moaning loudly on. As I've said, usually people on the train keep to themselves, and I've never seen one passenger tell off someone else before.

springtime in november...

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous! I was outside without a coat. In Chicago. In November. See? Gorgeous. Is it global warming or the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine?) well, whatever, I will take a few extra 60 degree days.

Saturday - ran around w/Heidi & Jane. Fun times were had by all (except possibly when I got my allergy shots. Those are never fun). Went shoe shopping which you know I totally hate doing and am opposed to at all times. I don't know how on earth she talked me into it. I had my heart broken at Nordstrom's when I found THE cutest pair of shoes ever (I will see if I can find a picture) on SALE, no less, but I fell into that oh so familiar problem - size 8 just a tiny bit too big (in this case, looked like I was playing dress up in my mommy's shoes, that's how big they were) and 7.5 just a tiny bit too snug. After much dithering/deliberating and trying on both pairs of both sizes many many many many times, I bought the 7.5s despite my rule that buying 7.5s is never a good idea ever because they'll invariably be too tight and I'll be miserable. They felt fine though and so I bought them. Fast forward to Sunday, when I wore them around the house to do morning chores etc and literally COULD NOT FEEL MY FEET. Time to return the shoes, sadly. So I did, and it was the right choice, but grrrr. No wonder they were on the sale rack, actually. Probably no one could fit into them. Miz-Moos, you have broken my heart!!

Saturday night we saw Paranormal Activity - and holy crap, it was so scary. I'm still sitting up at night going what was that? Were those footsteps? Answer there - yes, they were footsteps... of my family members getting up in the night. Geez. But just this morning I thought about creepy possessed Katie hovering around at the side of the bed, just staring, and it really really freaked me out. Chills.

And today? It's back to work, still lovely weather so I have got on my boots (earning the affectionate nickname from Heidi of "Bono's Boot Bitch" and a little skirt (emphasis on little - I had no clue how short this thing was before!)

happy monday!

save the date 7/6/2010

You know where I'll be... with my 2 BFFs and the Lads...

OBSESSED

I am IN LOVE with Cheno's voice in this song... and that Matthew Morrison... {swoon!}it's being played over & over & over on my ipod....

file this under "creature of habit"

In our restroom here at work, one of the soap dispensers is not working right. I know this. Put hands under dispenser (it's automatic) nothing happens. Grrr. Move to next sink. Repeat.

Every single time I've been in there today, I've gone straight to that sink. Then I go, "Awww, blerg!" remembering that it's not working and then I move over. Every.single.time today.

You'd think I'd learn. Right?

there's cool...

happy halloween!

I can't remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween. My mom and some of my friends are luky in that dressing up is de rigeur at their jobs (in schools!) and I helped them get their costumes together. Each year in the IRC (Information Resource Center - or what we geezers in the class of 97 called: THE LIBRARY) the friendly staff dresses up as a book cover and there is a contest to see who can guess the most. This year, Mama C is "Fly Girl" (I tried to convince her to dress up like J. Lo, but she was not going for it...)

fall trix (and treats)

I kind of like fall - crisp, brightly colored leaves (that have been looking so pretty and vibrant against our darkened skies lately). It's time to bust out the sweaters (or buy new ones. What? I like to shop AND be warm)new boots (I bought not one but TWO new pairs already. But to be fair, one of those is pair of Merrells for the snow. That's practical. Right?), weather that requires a jacket but yet is still warm enough for me to don cute skirts to work, honey crisp apples and the newest revelation, honey crisp CIDER, which is clearly the nectar of the gods, the toffee nut latte, when I am in the mood for coffee, or a tangy ginger peach tea. Halloween is in the air too, and so there are pumpkins and pumpkin pie (if you like that kind of thing which actually, I don't). Even the animals at the LP Zoo got to have some fall treats... I am a big sucker for tigers and so I feel the need to share these with you... They are so cute, playin' wid their punkins, I can't even stand it.

But anyway. This being Chicago, fall will abruptly give way to gusty winds, freezing temps and snow. Joy to the world. So let's enjoy our fall while we can, huh?

some halloween costume ideas...

From Time Out New York - costume ideas for your inner theater geek... (just lemme get some hairspray...)

The three ages of Patti LuPone. This would be good for a threesome (of either gender): Breakthrough Evita Patti, Mid-career Anything Goes Patti, and Apotheosis Mama Rose Patti. What you’ll need: a ball gown, lots of hairspray and a brace of microphones taped to your belly for Breakthrough Patti; a sailor suit and curly wig for Mid-career Patti; and a simple red dress and (if you’re willing to shell out) a giant Christmas-light sign that says “Rose” for Apotheosis Patti. Optional: a fourth buddy who can follow along a few feet behind, using a cell phone to photograph the group. Apotheosis Patti should occasionally round on this member and wig out.

Read more: http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/upstaged/2009/10/scare-yourself-in-stages-halloween-costumes-for-theater-people/#ixzz0VEqn2xLZ

But me? I just bought a costume at our Costume Vault sale going on today. It's a killer LBD and is from a William Forsythe ballet called Love Songs.

tonight the super trouper beams are gonna blind me...

ABBA Tuesday: It's baaaack!!! I know you missed it! This video is awesome on so many levels - the rhyme of "Glasgow" and "last show"... the hair... the outfits... Anyway. For the longest time, I was unaware that a super trouper was a kind of stage light. So I thought that this song was about some kind of crazy cop or something. But the light (hahaha) went on (the beam blinded me... but I did not feel blue, like I always do. Cuz somewhere in the crowd there's you...) and it makes much more sense now(ish).

An audience with Renée Fleming - Times Online

It's been a while since I have blogged about the divine awesomeness that is Renee Fleming. She really is amazing - the voice like an angel, the perfume, the dessert, all of the fame but none of the attitude. Whenever I have been fortunate enough to spend time in her presence, she is warm, easy to speak to (not that I am able to untie my tongue long enough to create coherent sentences), thoughtful and kind. She is so deserving of all the accolades heaped upon her. If you have the chance to see her, go.

An audience with Renée Fleming - Times Online

kitchen confidential...

So last night I made a new recipe - "BLT" Risotto - with a few substitutions, naturally. The recipe called for pancetta, but I used regular bacon and the "L" was actually supposed to be lettuce, used spinach instead. So I guess it was a BST risotto. The recipe came from the Rachael Ray magazine (shut up. Obnoxious she may be, but her magazine is chock full of awesome.) and it was easy(ish) to make. Risotto is fairly bitchy, just because of the time it takes to cook the rice, adding the broth, 1/2 cup by 1/2 cup, getting it perfectly al dente. Not, clearly, as bitchy as the "bitch rice" referred to in Julie & Julia but time consuming nonetheless. Ultimately rewarding. It was consumed while watching America's Next Top Model and then Glee. It was quite tasty and I brought leftovers for lunch, which is the best feeling in the world - not having to eat Lean Cuisine "food."

This weekend, when I am not at the theater, I am planning to make a cherry caramel bread pudding. I will keep you all posted. This will be my first bread pudding!

Othello...

A glimpse behind the scenes...

Othello from MSmith on Vimeo.

god, that's good...

So I just finished reading Julie & Julia and was inspired.... to cook. I can make an awesome risotto, and a really fierce uh... scrambled egg (no joke!) and I can bake up a storm, but I want to try more things. This is not going to devolve into a Kristen/Julia Project. It's not happening every night, but when I feel like it. I am not utilizing MtAoFC, because I could not stand the butter content and I don't have time in the evenings for 17 page recipes. Or brains. Or liver. Or aspic with anything. But yeah. Watch this space. And if you're nice, I'll even share some of my cuisine with you.

do the hustle!!

First group dance on Dancing with the Stars last night... the hustle! Worth every cheese and mirrorball moment.

miscellaneous thought of the day

Over the weekend, I spent most of my time at the Auditorium Theatre, working at our performances of Othello. Let me just say - the production is sublime. It's really amazing, very high quality and classic. Stunning projected sets, elegant costumes, gorgeous dancing and a great cast. I saw it twice this weekend and will see it again next weekend - come on out, it's dance at its most amazing.

But anywho. Shameless promotion aside, my point actually is - I was at the theater and I took Metra, in order to save myself from paying a million dollars in parking at Grant Park south. While I was waiting at Union Station, a lady came wandering up to me asking me what train I was waiting for, why we weren't all getting on the train sitting on the other side of the platform (uh, because it's not going to the same place?), etc. It was her first time taking the train and she was anxious. Which is fine. People always ask me directions. On the train they ask if the train stops at Fox Lake or wherever they happen to be going. And I do my best to be helpful, although to be honest, I am a bit hazy about where the thing goes after I get off. I sort of stop caring after we arrive in the MG okay? Once someone even asked me how much the fare was from Union Station to somewhere random. Why would I ever even know that? But still. I can be patient. I can be nice (really. I can.) So I dug out my schedule and helped her figure out the fare. I explained flag stops to someone. I guess I look friendly, or knowledgeable, or like I am a Woman Who is Going Places.

My point here is this - why can't any nice looking (single) GUYS aske me for the time, or directions, or how much the fare is to Mars (seriously. one of the other trains - not mine - goes somewhere called Mars.)????

Nolite te bastardes carborundorum

You know how sometimes when you are in a mood, music can really help? For a while, for me, it was opera - but you know when you're in a really pissed off mood, that really doesn't help a whole lot. Revenge aria my ass. All you really want the fat lady to do is to go and sit on somebody or kick some serious butt. And sometimes happy peppy Swedish pop music does the trick for me.

But sometimes... you really needs some angsty Irish rock. So here you go. From the Philosopher Hewson & co, one of my favorite U2 songs possibly ever (why didn't they play it live for us??) - turn it on, turn it up, live it, love it. No stress, only love & a rocket ship.

dear heidi, i will never question you again!

I thought for all these years that you were making up this song but now I see the truth. I will never question you again (until, of course, I do).

schnappi, das kleine krokodil

vikings do it better...

Celebrate your favorite Viking today (no, not him... the other one) - it's Leif Erikson Day! Just think, we could be called the United States of Leif or something. And be speaking Norweigan. And enjoy lots of... cod. I don't know. Whatever. Let's dance!

V is for Viking!
V is for Victory!

Everybody - RUMBLE!

when life imitates ABBA....

Crazy craziness - we open a week from tomorrow (buy your tickets, already!) Things here are busy busy! So originally, I was going to make you work for your ABBA Tuesday video, since all of the good ones CAN'T be imbedded!

But youtube is being a massive pain in my ass and not linking this right, so here are your choices:
A.) you can try going here for today's selection - which is the best video. If it doesn't work go to you tube and search Abba Under Attack for the real selection.
B.) Eschew my ABBA Tuesday and look for your own video. Whatever floats your collective boats, babies. All I'm trying to do is bring a little joy in the form of Swedish pop into your lives. or
C.) Watch the below. Same song, but live version that is embeddable. It's much fun for many reasons.

Arts can help Chicago realize Olympic ambitions - The Theater Loop

Yes!!

Arts can help Chicago realize Olympic ambitions - The Theater Loop

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better them than us...

So yes - my dream of attending an Olympics will not happen in Chicago 2016. I wished it would have been closer, as it really sucks being the first ones eliminated (I mean, really? Madrid? Really?). But I'm happy for you, Rio. And if was a betting sort of woman, I would have made a whole pile of money, predicting you as the victor. Here's a video for ya. It's Patti and I love it.

happy birthday, heidi!

Welcome to Club 30, my friend!

singalong with the tenors... to BRAZIL!

You may be wondering why the sudden fascination with Brazil... am I just longing for warmer weather and sun? The delightful lilting sounds of Portugese? Carnival? Carne asada (wait, is that Brazilian?)? Or have I turned into a Chicagoan for Rio in 2016?? I am deeply undecided about the Olympics. On the one hand, it is the worst idea in the history of ideas. I can think of about a million things that we would be better of spending these billions of dollars on, and none of them is the Olympics. On the other hand, I love my city, it is really exciting to think about the Games being here, and of course, I have a kickass idea for the opening ceremony (as you all know).

However, I REALLY HATE being bossed around by Oprah. So yeah, I guess I am rooting for Rio.